Last human remains suspects sentenced

JACKSON - A pair of Wellston men this week were sentenced to prison time this week in the first criminal enforcement of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the Southern District of Ohio.

The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announced Wednesday that Brian K. Skeens, 49, was sentenced to 90 days incarceration, and that Toby Lee Thacker, 56, received 30 days for their involvement in the excavation and sale of the human remains of a Native American.

A third suspect involved in the case, 57-year-old Mark M. Beatty, was sentenced in August for purchasing the remains provided by Skeens and Thacker. Beatty was sentenced to three years probation, including three months of home confinement, a $3,500 fine, and $1,000 in restitution to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma for re-burial of the remains at a private, undisclosed location.

Another suspect, David Skeens, 40, was sentenced in July to 30 days’ incarceration followed by a year of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution at sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of illegal trafficking of Native American remains.

According to court documents, a witness saw people digging in a rock shelter on property on Sour Run Road in Jackson County in November 2012 and chased them off. Those digging left behind shovels, dirt sifters, buckets and trash which helped lead sheriff’s investigators to the three Wellston men who sold the remains.

An anthropologist confirmed that the human remains were consistent with Native Americans, specifically identifiable by cradle boarding, a cultural activity used only by Native American Indians in North America. The identity of the remains was also confirmed by an archeologist, who verified that rock shelters were used extensively for burials in Southern Ohio and specifically in Jackson County. DNA testing confirmed a direct connection between tribes living thousands of years ago to present day Native Americans.

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